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President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga welcoming Canadian decision to include the LTTE among identified terrorist organisations said in a message last night that it was a timely move in the current battle against terrorism in Sri Lanka and other countries.

She further said: Canda has more than 150,000 expatriate Tamils, and is known to be a major source of funds for the LTTE. A good proportion of these funds are obtained through coercion and intimidation of Tamil civilians, as well as through illegal activities such as narcotics dealing, human smuggling etc.

The move by the Canadian authorities is a major victory for the vast majority of Tamils, both in Sri Lanka and abroad, who have always been supportive of democracy and opposed to terrorism, as well as, other illegal acts of the LTTE.

It is also a victory for the Sinhalese majority in Sri Lanka who have eschewed extremism, and refused to carry out acts of revenge or retaliation against the Tamil citizens of the country, despite repeated provocation of the LTTE. This majority has always been in favour of a democratic negotiated settlement of the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka.

The decision by the Canadian Government also helps to further change for the better the image of Sri Lanka in the eyes of the world. It helps charge an image that was tarnished by continued LTTE disinformation campaign and the UNP's dismal record of Human Rights Violation and of violence against the Tamils of the country, during the period it was in power.

The Canadian Government has listed the LTTE as No. 9 in its new list of 20 terrorist organisations in its schedule to the United Nations Suppression of Terrorism Regulations.

This landmark decision by Canada, is also the result of the sustained diplomatic efforts by my government, which included many initiatives by Foreign Minister, Hon Lakshman Kadirgamar and myself, for international action against the terrorism of the LTTE.

It is also one aspect of the fruition of the many personal efforts made by me in negotiations with leaders of Western democracies to take action against LTTE terrorism. This was part of the agenda of my recent visit to the UK, too.

The Government and the people of Sri Lanka are deeply appreciative of the decisions taken recently by the Government of Canada, in the wake of similar decision taken by the governments of the USA and the UK to ban the LTTE as a terrorist organisation and to freeze its funds and assets, used to further terrorism in Sri Lanka and South Asia.

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